


Love Spectacular

by Anonymous



Category: Pocket Monsters: Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire | Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Versions
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Haruka is a sore loser, Haruka is the champion, Inferiority Complex, May is a contest spectacular idol, Pokemon Contests, Temporarily Unrequited Love, except Lisia doesn't think they're enemies so it's one-sided, except Steven Stone, just temporarily don't worry, nobody knows they are the same person
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:29:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24996142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Haruka was used to winning, so when Lisia defeats her in a pokemon contest spectacular, she has no idea what to do with herself.
Relationships: Haruka | May/Lutia | Lisia
Kudos: 8
Collections: Anonymous





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone, hope you like my story. If you're wondering why it seems eerily similar to a story you've read before that is because my previous account was compromised so I had to delete it along with all my works *cries*. The inspiration for this story came from when Lisia kept consistently beating me and turning my fan club against me, causing them to forget about me. Hope you all like it. Constructive criticism is welcome.

She was numb.

The crowd cheered, screaming the name of the contest spectacular winner. They rejoiced at her victory, shouting words of praise, of devotion.

It wasn’t her they were cheering for. Not this time.

Her eyes burned with tears of shame, of rage as she stared at the person who took her throne away. It took her so long, so long to get those fans on her side. She started from the bottom, and now that she had climbed all the way to the top, the fall was that much more devastating as she crashed down in one fell swoop.

It was her who was supposed to win, not Lisia.

She beat Lisia before, in fact she had done it many times already. She won the support of so many fans and now that Lisia finally managed to beat her again, she knew most of them would flock back to her in a heartbeat.

It wasn’t fair. Lisia lost to her so many times in yet all her fans stayed loyal to her no matter what. All Haruka did was lose once and she could already feel most of her fans turning their backs on her, running to Lisia and Ali’s side.

Fury boiled in Haruka’s veins as she watched Lisia be presented the Slateport City Master Rank Beauty Ribbon. Ali, her altaria, was beside her, humming with joy.

If they were in a Pokémon battle, Haruka would be able to slaughter her.

After she had beaten Steven Stone and become champion, she had turned her attention towards Contest Spectaculars. While she was so good at battling that she seemed born to do it, it wasn’t the same for contests. She trained long and hard to get where she was and to see it all blown away by one tiny mistake made her want to scream in frustration and break everything in sight.

Preferably Lisia’s perfect little face.

Her gardevoir, Joan, slid over to her side, as if sensing her distress. Its face was sorrowful, and she made a sound, as if apologizing for losing the contest. Haruka shook her head, her lips forming a genuine smile as she assured her beloved Pokémon that it wasn’t its fault.

“Gar,” Her gardevoir whispered.

Haruka took her partner’s hand, shaking her head softly. “It’s not your fault, Joan, it’s mine. I’m sorry that Ali managed to make you so nervous that you couldn’t perform the last round. I should’ve asked you to do safeguard instead of dazzling gleam.”

“Gardevoir,” her Pokemon said, looking away from Haruka in shame.

“Congratulations again on your win, Lisia and Ali!” The announcer exclaimed into the microphone, “How does it feel to finally win your title back?!”

The crowd cheered, screaming for Lisia to answer. To grace them with her lovely voice. It made Haruka’s jaw clench. She turned to her Pokemon again. Since all the attention was on Lisia, no one would notice if she disappeared.

“Let’s get out of here, Joan,” Haruka sighed.

Her Pokemon nodded, understanding her request and teleported them out of the contest hall. When Haruka’s eyes opened again, they were inside the dressing room where the contestants were able to change. She returned Joan into her Pokeball and started for her dresser and vanity.

The changing room was currently empty as everyone was in the stage arena watching the Contest Superstar make her speech. There was a gigantic screen in the room, playing the live footage of the contest. Lisia was making her speech, thanking her fans and her Pokemon and congratulating her competitors.

Haruka rolled her eyes, stripping off her costume.

Her costume that matched Lisia’s. It never occurred to her until now, but her contest costume was designed very similarly to her rival’s. There were a few differences in the arms, skirt, shoes, and color, but it was still strikingly similar. So much so that it made her see red. Her hands twitched, wanting to rip the offending clothing into shreds.

It had been a gift from Lisia. Haruka had just been starting off her Pokemon journey and arrived in Slateport City. After chasing Team Aqua out of the Oceanic Museum, she had been attracted to the Contest Hall by the many people rushing past her, eager to see “the adorable Lisia and Ali.”

_Haruka arrived at the Contest Hall, pushing through the large crowd of people to get to the front. Her metang floated along above her, crying indignantly at the prospect of its trainer being squished. A part of her wanted to just turn back and just get on with going to Mauville City, but she was curious. Were Lisia and Ali gym leaders? Were they perhaps the Champion of Hoenn?_

_Shoving an ace trainer and lass out of her way, she finally made it to the front of the crowd. There was a girl around her age standing at the entrance of the Contest Hall. She was dressed in an absurdly flamboyant costume, with sparkles and glitter that flashed harshly in Haruka’s eyes as the sun hit it._

_The girl was grinning widely at the interviewer in front of her, posing with her altaria next to her. “Hiiii ev-er-y-bo-dy!” She giggled, waving at the crowd of people who cheered once she opened her mouth, “Lisia here! Me and my altaria, Ali, have come to Slateport City’s Contest Spectacular Hall for a bit of FUN!”_

_The crowd roared, baffling Haruka. They were all here to see her?_

_Disappointment welled up in her veins. She had been hoping it would’ve been a powerful trainer, maybe even the champion. If she wanted to become champion herself, she needed to figure out who her opponent was. She thought this would’ve been the day, but it was just a Contest Idol._

_Sighing, she swiftly turned around, ready to leave the area when the idol suddenly cried out, “Dazzling, dizzying, doldrums defying!”_

_Apparently, it was her catchphrase as the crowd shouted the words back to her, “Dazzling! Dizzying!”_

_There was nowhere for Haruka to escape. Every small crack that she pushed through to get to the front was suddenly closed by the group of people wanting to get closer to the idol. She couldn’t leave, not until whatever this thing was finished._

_Sighing again in resignation, she turned back to face the dazzling, dizzying, eye-irritating Contest Idol._

_Lisia twirled, much to the approval of the crowd, and posed. It was probably something she did often, Haruka noticed, as her movements seemed automatic. She found it kind of silly that contestants need to be so flashy but found Lisia kind of adorable nonetheless. “Lisia’s! Miraculous! Contest scouting!” She laughed, her smile growing larger._

_The crowd surged forward, causing Haruka to move closer to the idol by a few feet. “Pick me, Lisia!” A beauty trainer cried, waving her arms wildly._

_“No, pick me!” A lass trainer screamed, jumping up and down in attempts to get Lisia’s attention._

_But the moment the crowd moved forward, the idol’s teal green eyes landed on Haruka and stayed on her._

_Feeling the heat of someone’s gaze on her, the trainer turned to see Lisia staring at her with a huge smile on her face._

_“You there, watching me with that baffled expression on your face!” She giggled again, pointing at Haruka, whose stomach dropped as soon as she did, “Hi there, cutie! Come forward, come forward!”_

_When Haruka didn’t move, the idol just laughed again, prancing forward and taking her hand. She pulled her along to the front, where everyone could see her. Flashes from cameras and screams were all she could hear and see. Panic welled up in her senses. Her eyes searched the skies for her metang, wanting to fly out of here as fast as she could._

_“Have you ever joined a contest?” She heard Lisia ask._

_Robotically, she shook her head._

_“That’s just what I want to hear!” She said, turning towards the crowd, “This is the trainer I’m scouting today! And her name is—_

_Realizing that Lisia was asking for her name, Haruka’s mind restarted. “May,” she answered before realizing that wasn’t her name._

_“May!” Lisia shouted and the crowd began chanting her “name,” “I can see that she is a strong trainer with several badges of her own already!”_

_The idol turned back towards Haruka, her smile still wide, her eyes shining with admiration. “May! You can enjoy Contest Spectaculars here. Now listen up because I don’t want to see you only making your Pokemon strong. I want to see you bringing out a brilliant, beautiful side of them and showing it off! So here you go! This is a Contest Pass, which is the first thing anyone needs to participate in a Contest Spectacular! And this is a Pokeblock kit, which will let you make Pokeblocks for your Pokemon out of berries!” Lisia dumped the items into Haruka’s arms, “May’s story begins today! Yes, this chapter should be titled—_

_Lisia twirled around, doing her pose again. “A Sudden Encounter! Miraculous Contest Scouting!” She giggled. “That’s what I’d call it! Now, everybody out there watching, you’d better expect good things from May because I do! That’s it today for Lisia’s Miraculous Contest Scouting! See you next time!”_

Haruka remembered being pulled into the Contest Hall by Lisia and given a costume to use whenever she was to enter in a contest.

_Lisia was still grinning as she handed Haruka a costume, all pink and glittery, matching hers like some weird couple’s T-shirt. “Thanks for playing along out there, it was kind of shocking, right? If you ever feel up to it, try a contest for me, okay? Tee-hee.”_

A groan of frustration escaped her lips. She needed to find a new costume. If she wanted to beat Lisia again, she cannot keep looking like some generic version of the Contest Idol. She needed her own look. Dazzling, dizzying, eye-irritating was Lisia’s style, not hers.

But then again, what is Haruka’s style?

She glanced down at her regular trainer clothes. Usually champions wore nicer, eye catching clothing, but she just wore the same outfit that she used when she started her journey. She never found anything wrong with it, but contests were completely different from being a champion. In contests, you needed to be flashy and bright, not strong and silent like Haruka is usually described as.

“Maybe I should just forget about contests and just go back to doing what I do best,” she murmured to herself, walking over to her vanity and wiping the makeup off her face.

As soon as she finished, she exited the room and quickly made her way out of the Contest Hall. There were a few people milling around outside, fans waiting for their favorite contestants to exit. None of them noticed Haruka, but she never expected them to. She looked very different in her contest costume than she does with her regular clothes. Though her face was still the same, sometimes she used a mouth veil, which hid half her face, causing her fans to not know what she looked like without her dazzling attire.

If they really looked at her face, they would know, but she never got close enough to be recognized outside of costume and she preferred to keep it that way. There were already so many trainers on her back, looking for her around Hoenn to challenge her to a battle.

Gabby and Ty were there, and the familiar sight of the reporter and cameraman made a smile form on Haruka’s lips. They travelled around Hoenn a lot, looking for tough trainers to battle, record, and interview. She met them a lot during her adventure through the region and seeing them made her feel nostalgic for those old times.

Haruka stepped closer to them, wishing to say “hi” before realizing they were interviewing a young picnicker.

“How do you feel about your idol, May, losing the Contest Spectacular today?” Gabby asked the young girl.

“I’m actually pretty disappointed because I expected a lot more from her—

The girl continued talking, but Haruka was no longer listening. She walked away, her blood ice in her veins. For a moment, she forgot that she lost to Lisia and this harsh reminder stung a lot more than it should’ve.

She disappointed a fan and disappointment usually leads to abandonment of that which disappointed you. She could feel her fanbase turning on her, cursing her for losing to Lisia, or perhaps rejoicing, she didn’t know. They all loved her because she was number one, unbeatable.

Her fists clenched. Lisia had disappointed her fans too! Lisia lost to Haruka more than Haruka lost to her! Why was it so unfair?!

A growl escaped her throat. She needed to blow off some steam.

And she knew exactly where to go.


	2. Chapter 2

“Metagross, mega-evolve!” Steven Stone commanded, placing his hand over the stickpin where his megastone sat.

In an instant, his metagross was surrounded by a blinding rainbow light so bright that Haruka had to close her eyes. When they opened, his metagross was in its mega-form, looking as intimidating and deadly as ever.

Haruka smirked. “Camerupt, mega-evolve!” She yelled, thrusting her left fist in the air.

The megastone on it glinted in the light and just like metagross, her camerupt was engulfed in rainbow light. This is what Haruka was good at. She was the best battler Hoenn has seen in a long time.

The light faded from her Pokemon, exposing its mega-form. A thrill ran through her veins. Battling was her domain, her turf. Contests may belong to Lisia, but she would always have this.

“Metagross use psychic!” Steven bellowed, his loud voice carrying over the champion’s chambers.

“You can tank it, camerupt! Tank it and use eruption!” Haruka gave her camerupt the grin, the grin she gave all her team members when she knew for a fact they could do whatever she asked of them, no matter how challenging.

It was a smile that showed she believed in them.

Her camerupt roared, easily taking metagross’s attack. It roared again, and hot plumes of magma erupted from the volcanic hump on its back, causing the temperature in the room to rise. The flames went everywhere on the battlefield, leaving no surface untouched—and no Pokemon untouched either. The brunt of flames miraculously (unfortunately for Steven) hit the steel, psychic type head on and—

The battle was over.

Haruka had won.

Again.

“Yes!” She shrieked in joy, running onto the battlefield to hound her Pokemon with hugs, “Oh camerupt, you did great!”

She heard Steven sigh. “You did good, old friend,” he said, returning metagross to its Pokeball.

Haruka rubbed her Pokémon’s head and it nuzzled into her hand, cooing softly. As she was patting camerupt, she felt all her anger from before melt away. It felt so good to win, to be considered good at something again. Her loss against Lisia may not have seemed like much to other people, but it really hurt her pride and ego.

Ever since she became champion, she became a little too conceited, but Lisia fixed that rather quickly.

She was still grinning, even as she felt Steven’s eyes on her back.

“Do you want to tell me what this is all about?” He asked, his footsteps echoing closer.

The smile fell off Haruka’s lips and she closed her eyes, praying to Arceus for patience. She didn’t want to talk about her loss to Lisia, or even about Lisia in general. That was the whole reason she came to the Pokemon league in the first place: to lose herself in battle and forget what occurred earlier in the morning. 

“It’s nothing,” Haruka said, returning her Pokemon to its ball.

Steven stopped just a foot away. “It doesn’t sound like nothing.”

Knowing he won’t drop it until she tells him what was going on, Haruka relented. “I . . . I just haven’t lost in a long time. I almost forgot how it felt like.”

He went silent. “Must be nice not knowing what it’s like to always lose,” his voice was somewhat sharp.

Haruka winced, turning around with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Steven.”

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “No, no, it’s alright. Getting beaten all the time by someone half my age doesn’t bother me in the slightest.”

She almost thought he was seriously upset until an amused grin started pulling at his lips. She gasped, reaching out to hit him on the shoulders. If he were truly upset, she wouldn’t have known what to do. What can you do to comfort someone who hates losing and lost again to you?

He laughed. “I’m kidding. I don’t know why but battling with you is fun and that’s why I don’t really care if I lose or not. Of course, losing all the time isn’t great, but it’s a good growing experience. It gives me motivation to look for ways to beat you and better myself in the process.”

His words did make Haruka think that she was being ridiculous, but it didn’t take the sting from the loss away. She knew she should be the bigger person, especially considering she was the champion of Hoenn, but a part of her, the part of her that was still just a teenager, didn’t want to be the mature one. It wanted to be bitter and resentful and hell-bent on revenge.

“So?” Steven continued, raising his eyebrows, “What did you lose? A battle?”

Haruka shook her head, feeling slightly embarrassed as she admitted, “A contest.”

There were three beats of pure silence before a smirk slowly spread over Steven’s lips. “Wait,” she could hear laughter in his voice, “You’re telling me that you,” he paused, snickering into his hands, “Tomboy Haruka, who wouldn’t even change your outfit for one befitting a champion, have been competing in contest spectaculars?”

“Well—

The sound of his laughter cut her off, Steven finally unable to hold it in. It wasn’t the fact that she competed in contests that made him laugh, it was just so . . . unlike Haruka to do so. And the fact that she looked so mortified to admit what she’s been doing made it all the more hilarious.

“Does Wallace know you do contests? He would enjoy making you outfits,” Steven said, after his laughter finally died off.

Haruka cringed. Wallace was the eighth gym leader of Hoenn and a contest superstar as well. She never had the unfortunate luck to compete with him in a contest, something she was immensely grateful for. When Haruka first walked into his gym, he did a double take on her outfit, criticizing her fashion sense before she even had a chance to open her mouth. He went on and on about the importance of frills and lace and pastels, all stuff Haruka didn’t have the patience for.

Battling and defeating him was all too satisfying for her.

She expected him to leave her alone after that, but he constantly contacted her on her pokenav, saying that he bought clothes for her and to come and pick them up.

Haruka never did.

And it became even worse after she became champion. Wallace had decided that he would become her personal fashion designer and consultant, creating outrageously ostentatious outfits that made Haruka recoil to the deepest depths of her soul. All of them were still within the Pokemon League, in the closet to her personal suite. She had no desire to bring them back to Littleroot Town for her mom to see.

“He doesn’t know, and he never will,” Haruka answered, threatening Steven with the point of her finger.

A chuckle escaped his lips. “Oh come on, Haruka, humor him a bit. Maybe wear one of the outfits he created—

“Arceus no.”

Steven shook his head at her, but the smile was still playing at his lips. “So who did you lose to anyway? And why haven’t I ever head of you competing in a contest before? I’m pretty sure if the champion takes part in a contest, it will create a huge buzz.”

Haruka sighed before lapsing into her story. How contest spectacular star, Lisia, recruited her, how Haruka accidentally gave a false name, how she ignored the contests until she became champion, and how she slowly rose through the ranks before Lisia defeated her in one fell swoop.

Something flashed in Steven’s eyes at the sound of Lisia’s name, but Haruka wasn’t sure why.

“Oh no,” she groaned, not liking the look, “You’re a fan of hers, aren’t you?”

Another smile formed on Steven’s lips, one full of mischief and secrets. “Let’s just say that I’ve supported her since the beginning.”

Haruka nearly rolled her eyes. _Of course_. Of course Steven Stone, previous champion of Hoenn was a fan of Lisia. What was she expecting? Lisia was just _so_ perfect, _so_ great, _so_ lovable, and adorable, and everyone liked her because she was just _so_ amazing.

A sour expression formed on Haruka’s face. One of utter contempt for the person she was thinking about. She clenched her fists, nails digging into her skin.

Steven’s observant eyes watched the change in Haruka’s demeanor with interest. He felt a little bad that she was so crushed with her loss, but a part of him couldn’t help but feel that this was exactly what she needed.

Haruka wasn’t used to losing, rather she was used to being the best. A prodigy since age twelve, of course her ego would inflate if she never once got beaten. Even her rivals, Wally and Brendan, weren’t much of a challenge for her. It was like they were still in middle school while she was already in college. Beating them and others was always easy for her and she grew used to it.

A rival, a true, hard to defeat rival, who she loses as much as she wins to, is exactly the kind of humbling experience she needed.

Haruka wasn’t mean, nor was she arrogant. But she had been up in space for so long, that she forgot to come back to earth. And now she had, albeit instead of voluntarily coming back down, she involuntarily came crashing, but this was for her own good.

A growing experience if you will.

Steven was quite similar back in the day. He was a strong trainer, one that surpassed any who tried to rival him. He grew used to winning and loved it. But as the years went by, battling started becoming boring. To fill the void, he began collecting rocks and going to far off regions in search of a challenge. Winning was fun, he had to agree with her, but winning all the time wasn’t. It got old after a while and battling, the one thing he used to love with all his might, slowly became a chore.

So when his title was finally taken away by a teenager almost half his age, he was shocked, angry, disappointed in himself, but most of all . . . exhilarated. He hadn’t lost in _years_ and almost forgot what bone-crushing disappointment felt like. The only ones who ever truly posed a challenge to him were the other champions from Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Galar, and, now recently, Alola, but they weren’t always around to battle with him because they were always so busy.

When Haruka came into the champion’s chambers, he knew she was different. There was passion in her eyes that burned bright and reminded him of how he was like before he was the best. Battling her was so much fun and it rejuvenated his love for battling and the like.

Though Haruka lost a contest, he had no doubt in his mind that this would revitalize her love for a challenge. He never wants her to go through what he’s been through. He never wants her to lose the passion for a thing she loved so much.

“This isn’t what you want to hear, but this is actually a good thing. Losing isn’t fun, but you’ve been so used to winning that you never think about strategies anymore because you don’t feel like you need to. This is exactly what you need, Haruka. A person who challenges you, pushes you to the limit, and helps you become a better version of yourself.”

Haruka looked up at him, the sour expression still on her face.

“You need to start learning how to not be a sore loser. When the day comes that you lose your champion title, and you will, you need to be able to accept defeat gracefully. You leaving that contest hall without congratulating Lisia was incredibly rude and I’m honestly quite disappointed in you.”

She knew that. She knew leaving was rude but couldn’t help it. Her face reddened in shame at the realization that she was acting like a brat.

“Lisia wouldn’t have done that.”

Tears burned in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.

His eyes softened at the look on her face. “It’s okay to hate losing. But if you lose, do it with grace.”

“I know,” she whispered, “I know I was being bratty, but I couldn’t help it! I—I,” she blinked rapidly as tears began dripping down her cheeks, “I honestly never thought I’d lose.”

Steven sighed before reaching out and pulling her into his arms. “I know, kid, losing sucks but that’s just a part of life. What was that famous saying again? Fall down seven times, get up eight?”

Her hands bunched into the back of his shirt and her face buried itself into his chest.

“You are strong, Haruka,” he told her, rubbing her back as she began to shake, her throat constricting as she forced herself not to sob, “So you lost. All you have to do is get back up again.”

And, for the first time since the first lost Haruka's ever faced in her life, she let herself cry.


End file.
